Hana Yori Dango
by Hime
Summary: Konoha may be the Village of Leaf, but it has never been kind to its Flowers... [Sakura centric oneshot]


Disclaimer: _Naruto _does not belong to me.

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Hana Yori Dango  
by Hime

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I would like to thank **omgcats** for doing such a great job at betaing this piece. Siriously, I've been holding onto this piece for over a year and without her it would probably still be hidden away on my harddrive.  
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I.

She was named after the flower she resembled and was raised as if she was just as fragile.

"Be good Sakura-chan, be a lady." Her mother tells her as she brushes the long pink hair of her child. "Those boys in your class are going to be ninjas, protectors of this village. Try to be good for them, alright?"

"What about the girls in my class? Will they be ninjas too?"

"Don't be silly, boys were made to protect us girls."

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II.

Sakura is a few months past her tenth birthday when she commits her first murder. It's done easily enough with the phrases she has practiced and accompanied by the appropriate gestures. The red slip of cloth that Ino gave to her now lies between the two of them like a fixed pool of blood. After this, Sakura does not look back—she has truly become a kunoichi.

A year later, she commits her second murder. It's the perfect crime, no clue left behind, no person to mourn the death now. The only thing left is the ghost of the girl she killed, now haunting her mind. She is the only one in her class to have two kills to her name.

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III.

If Sasuke is the distant moon, Naruto the glittering sun, and Kakashi the mysterious stars, then Sakura is like the tree she was named after, arms always straining up to the heavens, but feet planted firmly to the ground. She can train as much as she likes, until the blood that runs down her arms drop to the ground like cherry blossoms off their branch, but she will never be able to reach the sky on her own.

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IV.

Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with a boy who had a demon living inside of him, though she had no idea of what lived there in his stomach. But one day the demon overcame him, and he turned on his village, on his friends, on the only family he had left to feed the hunger that grew within him. Sakura tried to appease his cravings but she was not enough and he gave his thanks to her before he struck her down. That is the first time Sasuke truly commits murder.

Once upon a time, there was a different boy with a demon living inside of him who fell in love with a girl with a ghost living inside of her, though he had no idea what lived there in her mind. And because he loved her, he made her an oath, a vow, a promise of a lifetime to bring back the boy she loved (even though that boy had betrayed them all) and so he went. And he fought. And he was defeated. That is the first time in his life that Naruto dies.

Once upon a time there was a girl who loved a boy she shouldn't have. And in her grief, Sakura visits the magical sorceress who lived in the high tower and offers herself up in sacrifice to become something more. And Tsunade accepts. Sakura commits suicide and Tsunade produces a flawless replicating jutsu to take her place. That is the second time a girl named Sakura dies in the town of Konoha.

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V.

After he leaves, Ino gives and Sakura keeps a long strip of red in her pocket. Because they are friends again, Ino is able to discover the crime Sakura committed those years ago. It also helps that Ino has felt the presence of Sakura's ghost for herself.

"What have you done, Sakura?" she asks in confusion. "Why would you do this to yourself?" While selfish, Ino has only wanted what (she thought) was best for Sakura. Ino, perhaps, is the only one in Sakura's life to feel that way. But Ino is a girl and as such, her opinion doesn't hold much worth.

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VI.

They meet again just before their time is up, in an empty field away from Konoha. Kakashi has disappeared, gone after the silver-haired medic that usually fights by Orochimaru's side and perhaps to gather the reinforcements who were tailing them.

All four of them throw themselves into battle—Naruto against Orochimaru and Sakura against Sasuke ("I don't want to hurt you." She pleads earnestly as chakra-enhanced limbs aim for vital organs. He snorts, "Liar." Of course she is, she's a kunoichi.).

And so they fight on and on and on…

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VII.

She manages to kiss them both before they close theirs eyes, giving them her first and their last kiss of their lives. Just like Tsunade, Sakura has lost both her lover and her brother.

Sakura has been Tsunade's apprentice long enough to have read the secret scrolls hidden away in dark, locked rooms and knows the stories that have been forbidden from being retold. Kakashi won't be back in time to save anyone now. Sakura is sorry that history will repeat for Kakashi as well.

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VIII.

When the squad of ANBU arrives, they find nothing in the destroyed field but three bodies, one tossed to the side and the other two lying side by side. The blond has a series of unfamiliar seals drawn with drying blood upon his stomach and the other stares at the sky above with empty sockets. Lying between them, wrapped in a length of red silk, are a pair of leaf-green eyes.

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VIIII.

Every so often, Tsunade receives reports from Jiraiya sent from places far away from Konoha, of oft-repeated rumors of a young woman with pink hair and black (or, on occasion, glowing red) eyes with odd markings on her cheeks. She travels from village to village learning new techniques and always looking for information about the deadly Akatsuki group. Often enough, she stops in her travels to help others and that's how her legend begins to grow. When asked who she is, sometimes she replies "Nasuke" or sometimes she replies "Saruto." Occasionally, she replies "Nobody." They ask her to stay, make a life with them but she always says the same thing—she has an obligation to fulfill before she can go back home and become "Hokage."

Every so often, after she receives a report from Jiraiya or hears some outlandish rumor from afar, Tsunade drinks so much that even her famous skills cannot completely fight off the poison she consumes. She wakes up from her drunken stupor and broods in the dark for a couple of hours before Shizune bustles in with some medicine and a cup of strong green tea. After she consumes her breakfast (even with the medicine, the remnant of the hangover is enough to put her off food for the entire morning), Tsunade always promises Shizune that she will never drink like that again. Shizune nods but doesn't say anything. After all, Tsunade has also said she would never let anyone else wear the cursed necklace that now hangs around her neck once more or come back to Konoha ever again. And yet, for a boy, she has done both. The kunoichi of Konoha have always been raised to be susceptible to its boys.  
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.:fin:.  
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..._boys __before_ _flowers_...

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Author's Note: Like I said earlier, this was written a hell of a time ago. It was written while I was feeling a bit frustrated with the female characters in _Naruto_. I know that this is a shounen work but could Kishimoto-sensei at least give Tenten a stinking last name? Is that too much to ask for? I mean she's like the only one of the younger ninjas not to have one. In fact, while were at it, could you also give her a history to go along with it? I mean, geez... 

Okay rant over. In the fourth part, where I mention Sasuke having a demon living inside his belly, that's to represent the obsession he has for vengence and power. In Japan, deep emotions are considered to be stored in the stomach rather then the heart. Just wanted to make sure people understood what I was talking about...


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